ENFIELD, CT - It's a win-win situation for all when consumer's fix and do not discard, non-working cameras or camcorders. Consumers can save anywhere from $30 to hundreds of dollars when they make a repair vs. replace decision. Camera retailers can see their gross margins double vs. what they realize when selling a new camera. It's an ECO-green practice that really DOES bring in the green!

The recent Rethink Repair ™ Environmental Impact Study found that repairing a single camera consumed just 15% of the resources of a replacement camera. The CO2 saved on a years’ worth of Precision Camera repairs, is equivalent to removing 1,100 SUV’s off the street.

Two Clark University PhD candidates were commissioned by Precision Camera to conduct a lifecycle assessment of consumers’ repair vs. replace decisions. The lifecycle assessment/LCA methodology utilized SimaPro7, the world’s most popular environmental impact database. The scholarly report stated that “results were substantial and significant.”

First, an illustration of the consumer savings: Fixing a 3 year old, 10 megapixel camera is $360 less than buying a $600 replacement. It conserves enough energy to POWER A LAPTOP COMPUTER for a YEAR! Proportional benefits occur on $100-150 point and shoot cameras. Since the old camera is not discarded and new metal, glass and plastic parts are not created and transported, only 1/7th of the environmental resources are used.
With digital cameras now a mature category, the changes between the old and possible replacement model are small: both have 10 megapixel resolution, LCD viewfinders and stability management. The new camera has a tilt-able viewfinder and newer generation stability processor. Other than that, they are functionally the same.

With Precision Camera’s campuses employing more technicians than the next 3 competitors combined, it has highly specialized capabilities. Broken lenses can be disassembled, repaired and then calibrated to original factory specifications. Replacing individual components on malfunctioning circuit boards reduces the need for expensive, scarce resource consuming, new assemblies, transported from the Far East. With Precision’s processes, air, surface water and top soil emissions are cut. “Human” pollutants like carcinogens, radiation and Ozone Layer damage drop 85%.

The leading contributors to replacement model pollutants are printed circuit boards, lens manufacturing and transportation from the Far East. Repairing at the component level has a huge environmental benefit. Keeping the repair chain in/out of Connecticut and Texas vs. Asia, can create 10%+ in savings”.

“Brick and mortar retailers, in particular, reap tremendous benefits from a strong service proposition. They see increased store visits and a higher level of connection with their customers, plus great margins from a minimal investment”. Supplement those new profits with cutting pollution by 85% and everyone wins.